Theft forces Bitcoin firm offline

5 September 2012 Last updated at 13:06 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Bitcoin theft causes Bitfloor exchange to go offline Unlike most other types of money, Bitcoins do not have a physical real-world equivalent Continue reading the main story Related Stories Bitcoin users sue over lost funds Can a virtual currency do away with banks? Listen Bitcoin 'will recover' from crash One of the biggest Bitcoin currency exchanges has been taken offline after 24,000 units ($250,000; £157,800) of the virtual currency were stolen from its computer servers. Bitcoins can be used for online money transfers and trades, and the currency uses cryptography to protect it. But Bitfloor's founder, Roman Shtylman, said he had kept unencrypted "keys", which the thief accessed and used to take the money. Bitfloor's future is now in doubt. Mr Shtylman s...